Filtering agitator



Feb. 27, 1962 A. H. GERHARDT ETAL 3,022,655

FILTERING AGITATOR Original Filed July 9, 1958 fzverzr'.' ndr'ew/ 6er/Lard? GMC/M1653 maar@ United States Patent 3,622,655 FILTERNG AGITATOR Andrew H. Gerhardt, Birmingham, Mich., and Charles R. Waldrop, Herrin, lll., assignors to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Continuation of application Ser. No. 747,373, July 9,

1958. application Nov. 7, 196i), Ser. No. 67,858

Claims. (Cl. 6S--18) The present invention relates to clothes washing machines and more partciularly lto means for recirculating and filtering the Water of a clothes washing machine.

Automatic clothes washing machines with which the present invention is associated comprise a cylindrical tub containing a cylindrical cup-shaped basket having an oscillatable agitator therein. The agitator is oscillated during the wash cycle of the machine and the basket is rotated at high speeds to extract the water from the clothes. Clothes are inserted into the basket and the basket is lled to the desired water level, after which the agitator is vigorously oscillated to provide the washing action. As the washing operation proceeds, lint and scum accumulate in the wash water and unies removed therefrom, will adhere to the clothes during the extraction cycle. Various systems have been employed for removing the lint and scum from the wash water, including overflowing the basket to Wash the lint and scum down the drain. Other systems employ various methods of recirculation and filtering of the water in the basket of the machine. Most of these methods overflow Water from the basket into the tub and pump the overflowed water back into the basket through some sort of lilter. There are several disadvantages to such a recirculating system, however, in that some o-f the scum and filth that is present in the tub from the previous washing operation is circulated into the basket of fresh wash water when the washing cycle begins. Another undesirable feature of such a system is the cost requirement.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a filter system for a clothes washing machine which does not have the aforementioned undesirable characteristics of the prior recirculating systems.

The present system involves the use of the oscillating agitator to provide a recirculation of the duid within the basket and a filter disposed on or about the top of the agitator in the path of the recirculated water to remove the lint and scum from the water.

The invention consists of the novel constructions, arrangements and devices to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated objects and such other objects as will appear from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a cross-sectional view of a washing machine having a new and improved agitator with a filter thereon;

FlG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the agitator; and

FIG. 3 is a top view of the agitator partially broken away to show structural details of the agitator.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is disclosed a washing machine of the type disclosed in Gerhardt et al. Patent No. 2,807,951, October 1, 1957, and comprising a casing 10, an imperforate tub 11, and a vertically disposed imperforate Wash basket 12. The basket 12 has disposed therein an agitator 13 which is oscillated by a conventional driving means. Water is supplied to the basket 12 by the water supply means 14 and access is provided to the basket 12 by means of a hinged door 15.

The agitator 13 comprises an opstanding hollow post portion 16 for receiving the usual oscillated drive shaft 17, a radially spaced Wall 18 dening a water passageway 19 between the said Wall and the post 16, and a downwardly and outwardly daring base portion 21. Disposed about the outer surface and extending outwardly from the flaring base portion 21 are a plurality of vanes 22 for causing water turbulence within the basket 12 when the agitator is oscillated. A conical shaped, imperforato plate 24, having a plurality of spiral or helical vanes 23 disposed about the inner surface and extending outwardly to substantially the periphery of the iiaring base 21, is suitably secured to the base of the agitator by means of a plurality of screws 25. The vanes 23 nest against the bottom surface or" the agitator 13 thereby defining a plurality of helical shaped spaces 26 in the base of the agitator. A plurality of openings 27 in the agitator 13 provide fluid communicaiton with the Water passageway 19 and the spaces 26. A plurality of openings 2S are provided in the top of the flaring base 21 and are placed in the base so that they open into the spaces 26 at a point substantially forward of the end of the longest vane 23 thereby providing a pocket or cavity 26a in the agitator base.

An annular filter, designated generally by the reference numeral 29, is disposed on the agitator 13.

At the beginning of a washing operation, water is admitted to the basket 12 through the water supplying means 14 to iill the basket to the water level A shown in FIGURE l, and the agitator 13 is oscillated by appropriate driving means.

The oscillation of the agitator in one direction lls the cavities 26a and oscillation in the other direction pumps the water upward through the helical-shaped spaces 26 and the water passes through the pasageway 19, through the openings 27 and onto the filter 29. The water within the basket is thus continuously recirculated by means of the pumping action of the oscillated agitator.

Since any scum or lint in the Water is of relatively light Weight, it will be recirculated with the water as it ows through the agitator 13, and the lilter member 29 arrests and removes the scum and lint from the circulating Water.

This is a continuing application of an earlier tiled United States patent application Serial No. 747,373, tiled July 9, 1958, entitled Filtering Agitator which application has been permitted to lapse without prejudice in view of its being superseded by this application.

While we have described our invention in connection with a certain specific embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and the scope of our invention is deiined solely by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes receiving basket adapted to be lled with clothes and water to a predetermined level, an agitator disposed within said basket, means for oscillating said agitator, a filter disposed adjacent the top of said agitator and above said predetermined level, means detining a water passage through said agitator and communicating with said filter and including a plurality of spaced spiral vanes within said agitator for pumping the water upwardly through said agitator.

2. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes receiving basket adapted to be filled with clothes and water to a predetermined level, an agitator disposed within said basket, means for oscillating said agitator, said agitator comprising a post portion for receiving a drive member and wall means radially spaced therefrom and deiining a radial Water passageway, said wall means terminating in a Haring base, a lilter disposed on the top of the agitator above said level and in communication with said radi Water passageway, means providing a plurality of spiral water passageways in said daring base and in communication with said radial water passageway, means providing communication of said water in said basket with said spaanse Y spiral passageways whereby when the agitator is oscillated,

waterin the basket will enter said last named means and belifted upwardly by said spiral passageways through said radial passageways and will discharge onto said filter,

3. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes receiving basket adapted to be iilled with clothes and water to a predetermined level, an agitator disposed within said basket, means for oscillating said agitator, said agitator Ycomprising a post portion for receiving a drive member and wall means radially spaced therefrom and defining a Vradiali water passageway, Vsaid wall means terminating in aring base, a filter disposed on the top of the 'agitator Yabove said level and in' communication with said radi-ai water passage-Way, a plurality of spaced spiral vanes providing a plurality of spiral Water passageways in said ar- 'ting base and'in communication with said radial water passageway, rmeans defining at least one opening in the top of said flaring base above each of said spiral water passageways providing communication of said water in said basket with said spiral passageways whereby when the -agitator is ,oscillated, water in the basket will enter said last named means and be lifted upwardly by said spiral passageways through said radial space land will discharge onto said Vfilter.

Y4,. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes receiving vbasket adapted to be lled with clothes and water to a' predetermined level, an agitator disposed within said, basket, means for oscillating said agitator, a lter dis-v posed adjacent the top of said agitator and above said predetermined level, means deiining a water passage from below said predetermined level in communication with said filter, and a plurality of spaced spiral vanes within said passage connected to said agitator for pumping water upwardly through said passage from below said predetermined level to said filter. Y

5. In a clothes washing machine, a clothes receiving basket adapted to be lled with clothesV and water to a v passage from Vbelow said predetermined level to said iter.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS Altorfer Oct. 20, 1959 Gerhardt Dec. 15, 1959 Smith Mar. 28, 1961 

